Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane
    Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane
    Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane
    Ebook54 pages31 minutes

    Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane

    By Bill Russo

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    As America developed a huge appetite for its emerging passion in the late 19th century, one man stood above all other baseball players - Cannonball Crane. He was the biggest, strongest, and the heaviest star the game had. His record heave in the Polo Grounds set a record for a 'long throw' that probably still stands today - as does his 428 batting average for Toronto. That mark is still far and away the high water mark for any pitcher in the nearly 150 years of professional baseball. Few have risen so high, or fallen so low as Big Ed Crane. This is his story.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBill Russo
    Release dateSep 6, 2016
    ISBN9781370672202
    Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane
    Author

    Bill Russo

    Bill Russo had lived in an area of Massachusetts called the Bridgewater Triangle for many years and never knew that it was said to be inhabited by scary swamp creatures until he met one. It happened on a midnight walk. Years later, two film producers read his blog about it and featured him and his story in their documentary, The Bridgewater Triangle. He also was approached by Discovery channel producers and was featured in the opening segment of Monsters and Mysteries in America - Season two, Episode two. Among his work, are two anthologies featuring the Bridgewater Triangle Universe. One is strictly fiction and the other contains his account of meeting the swamp creature - plus other stories from New England. As a disc jockey, he was the first person to play and promote the trucking classic "Tombstone Every Mile". He counted as a friend, the first man to cross the musical color line, in a 1940s Jazz Band. The "Human Jukebox", who opened for both Elvis and Roy Orbison, was a neighbor of his. Stories of these and other artists are included in "Crossing the Musical Color Line". Bill's background for writing comes from a Boston education at the venerable white shirt & tie, Huntington School for Boys. He followed that up with a study of journalism, music, and broadcasting at the famed Kenmore Square institution, Grahm Jr. College, where he said he learned more about music from an African American gentleman who was the school's janitor, than he ever could in a classroom. He introduced me to Gloria Lynne, Bill said. Years after he learned of her, she had a mega hit with I Wish You Love. One of Grahm's well known graduates was performance artist Andy Kaufman who created his Taxi TV character Latka while at Grahm. Andy also claimed he learned Transcendental Meditation at Grahm, although it was not taught there. But who knows? It could be true. Bill Russo learned music from the Janitor. Maybe someone in bookkeeping was a guru and gave Andy the secrets of TM. At various times during his career, Russo was a New England Newspaper Editor, a Disc Jockey, and a Radio newswriter and newscaster for a number of stations. He also has had stints as an iron worker, and a low level manager for a major mail order clothing retailer. One of his favorite jobs was partnering with Bill Barry, the inventor of a jewelry polish called Clear Bright n Shiny. The 'Bills' as they called themselves toured New England selling...

    Read more from Bill Russo

    Related to Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane

    Related ebooks

    Baseball For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      A Diamond In The Rough

      May 30, 2023

      A Diamond In The Rough
      4 min read

    • Article

      Mickey Mantle Tracts Available For Fans, Collectors

      Jul 18, 2023

      SCD encourages a diversity of voices and views. Please limit letters to 200-400 words and include your name, city and state. SCD reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity. Please email letters to jowens@aimmedia.com. Today I recei

      4 min read

    • Article

      FROM the MAILBOX

      Dec 6, 2022

      FROM the MAILBOX
      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Apr 3, 2023

      The Big Issue, 2nd floor, 43 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 1HW letters@bigissue.com @bigissue /bigissueUK @bigissueuk @thebigissue 04/05/1963 - 10/03/2023 In 1993 there used to be a section in The Big Issue called Capital Lights (precursor to St

      3 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Oct 18, 2022

      Letters
      6 min read

    • Article

      Sharing Baseball Memories

      Feb 18, 2023

      I can’t argue that Albuquerque, N.M. has a rich sports history. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t passionate sports fans, hobby shops and card collectors in this Southwest city. Tell someone you hail from Albuquerque and you get a couple responses:

      3 min read

    • Article

      Wild Cards

      Sep 12, 2019

      Wild Cards
      6 min read

    • Article

      Collecting Record Home-run Hitters, Cowboys And ‘ The Bird’

      Mar 18, 2023

      SCD encourages a diversity of voices and views. Please include your first and last name, city and state. SCD reserves the right to edit all letters for length and clarity. Please email letters to jowens@aimmedia.com. I read the article about Frank Th

      6 min read

    • Article

      Projections of Life

      Jun 1, 2023

      Projections of Life
      14 min read

    • Article

      Top Ten Hobby Finds

      Jan 22, 2021

      Top Ten Hobby Finds
      5 min read

    • Article

      Trash Talk

      Oct 18, 2019

      What’s up SLAM FAM? The last issue with the KLAW is my favorite to date. It was no fluke that the Raptors won, and it was really a win for all of Canada. I’m writing because I wanted to clear some things up. Basketball is a Canadian sport. Canada inv

      2 min read

    • Article

      COLLECTING WINS & CARDS

      Dec 7, 2021

      COLLECTING WINS & CARDS
      5 min read

    • Article

      Long Live Boxing News

      May 27, 2021

      Long Live Boxing News
      11 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      May 22, 2023

      I am a mailman, and when I was delivering issues of Garden & Gun to people’s houses, I was very happy to see Jason Isbell on the cover (April/May 2023). I just watched his new documentary and have never seen a documentary that was so real. He puts it

      4 min read

    • Article

      D. Michael Thomas

      Jun 8, 2021

      D. Michael Thomas
      5 min read

    • Article

      ‘I Guarantee It’

      Feb 5, 2022

      ‘I Guarantee It’
      6 min read

    • Article

      Dear Paul

      Nov 13, 2020

      This month we start with a genealogical challenge from Family Tree contributor Adele Emm. Adele’s grandma, who was born in 1898, began working in the weaving sheds when she was 12 and here, she met another lady who was to become a lifelong friend. Th

      8 min read

    • Article

      Merge

      Jan 30, 2020

      Merge
      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Sep 16, 2022

      Letters To The Editor
      4 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Dec 9, 2022

      I am looking for information on belt-driven water pumps. The tag on mine says Fairbanks-Morse, size 1, 5530, K67481. I would like to know the pump’s approximate age, driving horsepower required (minimum/maximum), GPM output and maintenance requiremen

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Baseball's Strongest Man, Cannonball Crane - Bill Russo

      Baseball’s Strongest Man – Cannonball Crane

      By Bill Russo

      Copyright 2016 by Bill Russo

      Published by CCA Media at Smashwords

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Table of Contents:

      Foreword:

      Chapter One: Rochester, New York

      Chapter Two: Boston, Mass.

      Chapter Three: Frustration in Providence and Buffalo

      Chapter Four: The Washington Nationals

      Chapter Five: North to Toronto

      Chapter Six: On to New York

      Chapter Seven: The World Championship

      Chapter Eight: The Spiral Down

      Chapter Nine: The Last Hurrah

      Foreword

      In the late 1800s, He was the biggest man in America’s developing passion for baseball. The strongest also, setting the record for the longest throw; heaving a baseball from home plate more than 400 feet to the furthest reaches of the outfield.

      From Boston to Washington, New York City, and Toronto; to a life deciding moment in a shabby Rochester hotel – Few have ever soared so high or fallen so low. This is the story of Ed Cannonball Crane.

      Chapter One: Rochester, New York

      Draining the last swallow of his cheap ‘Beechwood’ whiskey, Ed Crane propped himself up on the lumpy mattress and hurled the spent ‘two bit’ bottle like a spiraling football. The explosion of the rocketed glass and the shower of the splaying shards temporarily halted the pounding on the door and the threats about the overdue bill.

      Soon, it started again - the dunning of Ed Cannonball Crane by the manager of the Congress Hall Hotel in Rochester, New York.

      Get the money up Crane or get out! If you can’t pay by tomorrow morning, you’re out.

      Big Ed reached for another quart of ‘Beechwood’ from the array scattered on the floor. Finding that all the bottles were empty, he took another pill instead.

      For a moment it dimmed the noise of the manager drumming on the solid door and the banging in his spongy brain. Two weeks? Was it really only two weeks ago that he had been fired from the Eastern League and told he could never play baseball again?

      Maybe less: "It must have been eight days ago

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1